CHILE PLEDGES AID TO TYPHOON-HIT PHILIPPINES

Last Updated:
2013-11-12

SANTIAGO, Nocv 12 (NNN-XINHUA) -- Chile pledged on Monday to send humanitarian aid to the Philippines where super typhoon Haiyan is believed to have killed some 10,000 people and left more than 300,000 homeless.

"Our embassy is getting in touch with Filipino authorities to find out what their needs are and how we can collaborate," Chilean Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno told reporters.

The Filipinos "have faced a disaster of enormous dimensions and we Chileans know what it is to face natural disasters," said Moreno, whose country is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis.

The Chilean government has been able to contact most Chileans in the typhoon-hit area in the Philippines, said the foreign minister.

"We have records of just over 50 Chileans in the Philippines and about 13 of them in the area (that was hit). We have been contacting them and fortunately none of them has had the misfortune of suffering material losses or personal injuries," he said.

Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded, made landfall on Friday, causing the most damage to the city of Tacloban on the island of Leyte as it whipped through central Philippines.

According to the Filipino government, 4.3 million people have been affected, including 800,000 who were evacuated and 330,000 who are currently in emergency shelters.